Hours Worked
3.29 Hours Worked - South West England employees worked the shortest average week of any English region. On average, they worked 33.2 hours per week in 2007 compared to an English average of 33.8 hours. Males worked on average 37.8 hours a week, only males in London worked fewer hours. Females worked on average 28.6 hours a week, the second lowest of all regions and almost an hour less than the English average for women. This reflects the higher proportion of part time workers in the South West, as full-time and part-time hours regionally and nationally are broadly similar.
3.30 Part Time Working - A higher proportion of South West workers tend to work part time. Female workers in South West England were over four times more likely than males to be employed part time. This is primarily attributed to the family care roles that are traditionally undertaken by women. Working patterns also vary across the SW sub-regions, from 22% in Swindon to 32% in Plymouth, due to differences in employment conditions and industrial make-up. Torbay had the highest level of male (15%) and Plymouth the highest female (52%) part time employment rate; for both sub-regions, in total, a third of the workforce worked part time.
